Airtel Acquires Stake In Aqilliz Airtel aims to deploy Aqilliz's advanced blockchain technologies at scale across its fast growing adtech, digital entertainment and digital marketplace
By Shrabona Ghosh •
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Bharti Airtel, on Thursday, acquired a strategic stake in Aqilliz, a blockchain as a service company, under the Airtel Startup Accelerator Program, subject to applicable statutory approvals.
Singapore-based Aqilliz has developed a patented hybrid blockchain platform, Atom that integrates differential privacy and federated learning on a distributed digital ledger. This allows brands to create secure and consent-based solutions to engage with customers in a rapidly evolving digital economy that's becoming increasingly decentralized.
Airtel aims to deploy Aqilliz's advanced blockchain technologies at scale across its fast growing adtech (Airtel Ads), digital entertainment (Wynk Music & Airtel Xstream) and digital marketplace (Airtel Thanks App) offerings.
"This relentless focus on innovation is also enabling us to unlock new growth engines within Airtel. Blockchain technology is maturing and we see its application across areas such as adtech, creator economy, and loyalty programs," said Adarsh Nair, CEO of Airtel Digital.
"We are extremely excited to be a part of Airtel's digital innovation play and bring this first of its kind blockchain technology to India. Aqilliz's patented technology will enable Airtel to capture and carry this value exchange in the form of consent and provenance across the digital supply chain. We look forward to working closely with the team at Airtel," said Gowthaman Ragothaman, CEO Aqilliz.
Airtel Startup Accelerator Program invests in early stage startups working on technologies that have adjacencies to Airtel's business offerings. The program gives startups the opportunity to deploy their technologies and applications at a massive scale.
